eBookwise (http://www.ebookwise.com/), an affiliate of fictionwise, is a new commercial e-book store that sells e-books for Gemstar GEB 1150, GEB 2150, REB 1200, and GEB 2200 devices.

If you don't have a dedicated e-book reader yet, you can also buy their new reader eBookwise-1150 (http://www.ebookwise.com/servlet/mw?t=book&bi=27007&si=43) (a re-branded GEB 1150 device) for $99.95, which includes a $20 content bonus. Not a bad deal for a dedicated hardware reader with a viewable screen area about as big a paperback book. I would like to know if you consider buying this device!

The problem with this device is that, at least to my knowledge, you are stuck to reading e-books in the fictionwise format. If someone knew how to 'upload' your self-made e-books, it would be a different story.

I agree, the reader really needs to be able to read at least one open format to be any sort of option for me (and I really like the smaller size of my h1930 :) )

I feel it's a step in the right direction though, especially with the price!

Craig.

I'd much rather Palm or even Sony build a wireless PDA with that size screen and a fold-over cover. I really don't need another device of that size that can't do other stuff as well. It would be extremely useful to have a paperback-size screen to surf the net with. I've written to various parts of Palm to suggest this, and more, but do they listen to what the punter wants ? Nooo....

(short answer - no I wouldn't buy this)

If someone knew how to 'upload' your self-made e-books, it would be a different story.

There is some talk about developing some sort of conversion capability at least enough so that owners can import/convert books from Gutenburg or Blackmask. Still just talk, we'll see.

Frankly, I think this device does two things:

1. Reassures the big name publishers about DRM enough so that they will release big name titles in an ebook format.

2. More importantly, knocks many steps off the learning curve about buying, downloading, syncing ebooks as compared to PDA's. There are many folks that just want that dedicated, reader - easy to use and cheap. The price is much more consumer oriented than Cybook.

I did order one of these eBookwise readers. I could not resist the price. :D I'll let you know what I think once I get a chance to use it. I doubt it will replace my PDA.

Brad,

I think you're right about a place for this sort of gadget... if it can carry it off in a way that an average person would be comfortable with. In setup, book acquisitions, and the actual reading has to be pleasurable, of course.

I look forward to hearing what you think of it.

Screen: Back-lit 5.5" diagonal 4-bit grayscale LCD touch screen; half-VGA resolution
I'd like to see a picture of one of these devices working, because this sounds to me like the screen of a Vx. If it's the same technology, then it's not worth 100 dollars, as it is very hard to read from it.
Update: it looks that it's the same screen as in the Clié SJ20. Only bigger, I guess.

VGA is what - 640 * 480? So half-VGA would be 320x240, that is the standard PocketPC resolution.

But the eBookwise comes with a 5.5" screen, that is gigantic compared to PDAs! I am curious how this turns out. Either it'll be a wonderful relief for your eyes (mine are complaining that the PDA screen is too small), or the fonts will be so pixelated that you can basically count each dot. Cannot wait to hear back from the first hands-on reviewer!

One of the members at the Fictionwise group says that the 1150's screen is very readable. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Fictionwise/

Years ago I had a Rocket eBook reader and I remember that sceen as being pretty good.

They will make good Christmas presents for my brother and nephew, who have been envious of my Rocket eBook Pro.

As far as I know you can download txt,rtf,doc and html files from your computer into the ebook reader. All you need is the Rocket Writer utility.

The more I hear about this little gem, the more I like it. I think ebookwise are onto something big here, and it will hopefully take off in a big way. They're doing the right things (cheap reader, heaps of excellent titles, ease of access to those titles).

Heck, I love reading on my ipaq, but I might consider one of these as well if I could pick one up "down under" easily....

Craig.

They will make good Christmas presents for my brother and nephew, who have been envious of my Rocket eBook Pro.

As far as I know you can download txt,rtf,doc and html files from your computer into the ebook reader. All you need is the Rocket Writer utility.

Hi WarStrider and welcome to Mobileread. :)

I hope you will let us know what your brother and nephew think of their eBookwise readers. It will be good to hear other opinions.

They announced today on the mailing list that eBookwise just signed with HarperCollins to add their books to the store. They also announced they have 900 titles from Random House and more new titles are being sent for conversion. I see this as a good sign that eBookwise will be able to sell current bestsellers.

It definitely sounds great. I just read (http://shadowdark.org/epublish/2004/11/blackmask-ebooks-adds-direct-support.html) at ePublishing Blog that Blackmask (http://www.blackmask.com/) has added native support for the eBookwise-1150. Looks like everyone is going to love this thing!

The problem with this device is that, at least to my knowledge, you are stuck to reading e-books in the fictionwise format. If someone knew how to 'upload' your self-made e-books, it would be a different story.

I am still unsure but it looks like you can import personal files in txt, html and rtf formats as well as older rb files. If this is true this reader looks like the ticket. Can anyone confirm this? I have wanted an ebook reader for a long time but wanted one that could display html ebooks.

I don't want to spoil the party... but!
But I would advise everyone to play with it LIVE, before ordering this device. Brad (http://www.mobileread.com/forums/member.php?userid=2386) posted (http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2719) a link to his review, which features very cool close ups, which I cannot find right now...
Here (http://www.bowindex.com/et2/reviewebookwisec.html) they are!
Ok, well, the greenish look in the background of the display reminds me of my old Vx, which was very hard to read under 50% of the light conditions one would normally encounter, no matter how big and bold the font would be.
I haven't seen one of these devices, and I doubt they'll make their way to Mexico in the near future, so my opinion is based in those pictures only.

I am still unsure but it looks like you can import personal files in txt, html and rtf formats as well as older rb files. If this is true this reader looks like the ticket. Can anyone confirm this?

I can certainly confirm that you can upload and read (.rd) and HTML formats. Both displayed nicely for me. I have not personally tried .txt, RTF or .doc files but I see no reason to doubt eBookwise's word on this since the others display as advertised. :)

Ok, well, the greenish look in the background of the display reminds me of my old Vx, which was very hard to read under 50% of the light conditions one would normally encounter, no matter how big and bold the font would be.

The greenish tint only shows up in the camera flash. With the naked eye, the backlit screen appears white with grey scaled lettering. The grey lettering seems slightly sepia-toned to my eye.

I do most of my reading in the dark at bedtime. But I have tried the reader with a reading lamp on and it is very readable under both conditions.

The half-VGA screen is not very good for graphics at all. The text looks a bit chunky even, but I cannot argue with my own experience: that I am reading faster with the 1150 than on my PDA. The font and the screen size seem to work for me.

This does not mean I am giving up on my PDA as ebook reader - it still fits in my pocket and is perfect for carry along. For me the eBookwise is more useful around the house.

[QUOTE=Brad]I can certainly confirm that you can upload and read (.rd) and HTML formats. Both displayed nicely for me. I have not personally tried .txt, RTF or .doc files but I see no reason to doubt eBookwise's word on this since the others display as advertised. :)

Ok thats a big step in the right direction. Now one more question. On html files does it display files with a stylesheet correctly. Ie where you set margins and indents and header definations once at start of file vice doing code for them over and over. If you dont have a file with a stylesheet, I wiould be happy to send you one Brad so I know for sure... Thanks in advance.

Highroller,

I will be happy to test that with a file of yours. Check your Private Messages (PM) for contact info. :)

The greenish tint only shows up in the camera flash. With the naked eye, the backlit screen appears white with grey scaled lettering. The grey lettering seems slightly sepia-toned to my eye.

This sound like the display of a Clié SJ20 (even the sepia tones). Now it seems to me they built a close to perfect device. You could have "better" features but at other costs, such as a higher battery drain, or even worse... a higher price!

Highroller said:
Ok thats a big step in the right direction. Now one more question. On html files does it display files with a stylesheet correctly. Ie where you set margins and indents and header definations once at start of file vice doing code for them over and over. If you dont have a file with a stylesheet, I wiould be happy to send you one Brad so I know for sure... Thanks in advance.

Highroller sent me a test document. I can report that yes the 1150 does pick up the style sheet. The large bold sans-serif font of the title (centered) and the normal serif font of the text. The HTML file looks pretty much the same on both my computer monitor and the 1150. So good news. :)

Highroller sent me a test document. I can report that yes the 1150 does pick up the style sheet. The large bold sans-serif font of the title (centered) and the normal serif font of the text. The HTML file looks pretty much the same on both my computer monitor and the 1150. So good news. :)

Cool. Now if my wife will stop spending money I don't have, maybe I can afford to get one of these buggers. It sounds like the perfect reader for my purposes. Most of my books are in html format and I already have a 128 meg SD chip for use with our digital camera. :o)

I've read the 1150 has a dictionary feature. Has anyone played with it? Is it possible to load different tranlations dictionaries? I read a lot of books in french, spanish and english and I'd like to know if I can click on a word and get the translation or definition.
Could you tell us more about this feature? Thanks!

If I can transfer files from the ebookwise, I would buy it. It looks like may be possible with the memory card and card reader, but I can find no documentation of how to do this. Can anyone help? (I want to be able both read books on the ebookwise, underline pasages and then save, and then export back to my computer, and vice-versa, like "synching" from the Palm)

If I can transfer files from the ebookwise, I would buy it. It looks like may be possible with the memory card and card reader, but I can find no documentation of how to do this. Can anyone help? (I want to be able both read books on the ebookwise, underline pasages and then save, and then export back to my computer, and vice-versa, like "synching" from the Palm)

Well you should be able to copy the file back off the memory card with a card reader. I haven't tried it. You can hilite words in a book easily enough as you read it and then you can do searches for hilighted sections. I do this to find the areas that need work and then search in my original html and fix the problem in the original on my pc. While there may be a way to do it, I don't know of any program to convert the imp files back to any other format...